The MLS Matchday Central crew discussed a variety of topics around Major League Soccer on June 30. However, no topic was more well covered than the San Jose Earthquakes. Below is a full transcription of their thoughts on the Quakes. The full video can be watched here.
Andrew Wiebe:Nothing but daps and good vibes for the San Jose Earthquakes. What a difference that is from the first four games of the season when they had four Ls and we were saying, ‘that defense can’t stop anybody’. The Matias Almeyda effect. It is real, Bobby. As we take a look at the highlights and marvel at yet another wonderful crowd at Stanford Stadium. What can you say about those Quakes?
Bobby Warshaw:The Quakes were just spectacular again, and Andrew, they just do everything well. We’ve talked about the man marking, and yes, their defensive system does make it tough for teams to play against them, but that’s not all that this team can do. As we see here, they’ve got talent offensively. They can make big plays, they transition well, they defend in transition well. They’re good on set pieces. If you were to go aspect by aspect, the San Jose Earthquakes might be an eight or a nine out of 10 on just about every single element right now.
Matthew Doyle:And I don’t think anybody saw that coming. I certainly didn’t. Especially after those first four games, they were so bad. Credit to Matias Almeyda for making necessary personnel switches in that lineup. But also, he gets them to play hard every single week. There are a lot of MLS teams who try to cruise through the regular season in third gear. If you watch these Quakes, they never do that. They go into every challenge as if their life depends on it and when you play with that level of desperation, good things happen.
Andrew Wiebe:I want to throw it back right now. All the way back to April 6th. Four losses, things are looking bleak for the San Jose Earthquakes. Who steps up in front of the camera and says to the world, ‘this is going to change.’ Tommy Thompson, that’s who.
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Danielle Slaton:Tommy, what needs to happen for you guys to get off on the right foot early today?
Tommy Thompson:We have to be together; we have to be precise. I don’t care what happened last game; I don’t care what happened that game before that. Today we’re going to be different. And if it’s not this week, it’s going to be next week. I believe in this team, I believe in this coach, I believe in this organization. We’re going to fix this.
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AW:‘I believe in this organization. We are going to fix this.’ That is iconic stuff.
MD:It’s so James Van Der Beek from Varsity Blues, “I don’t want your life.”
AW:It’s amazing. Charlie, where does that come from? You know, obviously from Tommy’s soul.
Charlie Davies:From deep, that’s from deep.
AW:When you are standing up saying that in the midst of hardship, what’s the environment that’s creating a moment like that?
CD:Well, you’re hoping for that. That comes from every player on the team. You can say all the right things, but it’s about going out there and doing it. I think where this all changes [is] when Wondolowski got brought on back in to the fold and was given an opportunity. And the way he plays, the way he leads is by example: fiery, not taking anything for granted. Every time he spends a moment on the pitch, he’s looking to get the most of it. And now that’s trickled down to their whole team, and every guy who is on the field is taking responsibility and trying to give it their best. And now you’re seeing a team that’s enjoying themselves, playing creative, trying to create chances. And Vako, with him, when he’s in-form, what he can do: creating, set pieces. He likes to shoot from anywhere.
MD:Realizing he can pass the ball. That’s a new thing for him.
CD:When he can open up spaces for other guys, it just makes them that much more dangerous.
BW:Andrew, to go to your question about what is like in the locker room. I’ll tell you what, every single bad team in the history of the world has someone give this speech in the locker room before a game or after a practice, and everyone shakes their head like, ‘yeah, we can do it, we can do it.’ And deep down, ‘you’re like, we suck man. I know the words you’re saying, but if we’re all being honest, we suck.’ But you look at Tommy Thompson and it had that vibe to it. Where it’s like, alright, he might actually believe this. He might truly, sincerely think the words that are coming out of his mouth, and the dissonance, the contrast between that and the people that try and fake it, was something you can see.
MD:If I recall correctly, that was his first start of the season and then you have Florian Jungwirth came into the team around then. Jackson Yueill came into the team around then. Wondo had been starting, they put him on the bench. Danny Hoesen came in, he gave them a real lift as well. And it had taken [Cristian] Espinoza, who is so good on that right wing, a little while to acclimate. All of that sort of hit at once. That game, they beat Portland 3 nil and I think they used that and were able to spin that forward as a group. Since the start of April, they literally have the best record in the league. They have a better record since the start of April than LAFC does. This team, they’re no joke, they’re not going away. And I don’t think this even their final form. I think that there are some moves to come.
AW:Matias Almeyda said they were kind of down when he got there, and [he] took time [and] brought them up and now they’re feeling real good about themselves. Carlos Fierro, that move is done. From Guadalajara. Winger coming in from Liga MX. Also, Andres Rios may be coming in as well to this team. They make some changes as the window opens in July 9th. We are going to, later in the show, take you through Bobby’s top five teams that have improved the most since the end of last season. Where will the Quakes end? Somewhere high on that list. No doubt about that.
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BW:Number one on this list [of most improved teams since the end of 2018], it’s no surprise.
MD:No question.
BW:They [San Jose Earthquakes] just laid the smackdown in the Cali Clasico, and I almost feel at a loss for words for how to describe the improvement they’ve made. If you watched this team last year and the beginning of this year, it was not pretty. It was downright ugly. But now, as we talked about at the top of the show, they do just about everything right. Their defensive phase is excellent. Their transition, both defensive and attacking is excellent. But then they also have talented players who are making big plays: Vako, Cristian Espinoza, Chris Wondolowski showing up in the right spot. Matt, is possible this is not just the most improved team in Major League Soccer, but also potentially a legitimate MLS Cup contender?
MD:It is possible. I still think they’re a level down just in terms of raw talent from LAFC and Portland. But if you look at the way they play, you mentioned, they have talent, they have guys who can win you a game but the way they come together, there’s something about their body language and their team spirit. This is corny, right? These are like clichés, but I actually think this stuff is real and you can see it happening with the Quakes. When one of these guys scores a goal, the entire team runs out there and they’re celebrating together like they are U-12s or something.
BW:They look like they are having fun.
MD:And it translates. Right now, they are maybe the most fun team in the league to watch, and that’s the biggest improvement for the Quakes. They’re giving their fans their money’s worth.
BW: This is our top five most improved teams in the league, and for me there is no question [about] number one, the San Jose Earthquakes.
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AW:Passes of the week, that’s your territory, Doyle.
MD:It’s Quakes territory actually. I made this a Quakes special. This is one thing that they’ve done really well this year. Over load one side, hit a big switch, and then get it to the other side and do some damage because they have wingers who can beat you off the dribble and combine a little bit … This is what they really do, it’s specifically through Jackson Yueill, the ability to play up the middle and combine, force teams to collapse and still play through them, generate good looks. I just love this sequence, this one right here. One of the best passing sequences of the season (minute 64 vs. Houston Dynamo) from any team. They start out on one side, they knock it around, they pull Houston out of joint, and they use Houston’s aggressiveness against them. Watch Yueill slip past Boniek Garcia. Once he gets the ball in that spot, the Quakes are going to combine, they’re going to generate a chance. This one should have been a goal. It’s just good soccer, guys. This is the type of soccer you pay to see.
AW:Quakes getting all the love on Matchday Central and for good reason. They are riding a wave of momentum thanks to Matias Almeyda.
